Francis Zaake, the Member of Parliament for Mityana Municipality, has submitted a petition to the Clerk of Parliament seeking that he be reinstated as a Commissioner.
This comes after he successfully challenged his impeachment earlier this year.
On September 28th, 2023, the Constitutional Court found that Deputy Speaker Anita Among, who presided over the affair, breached the norms of natural justice by not recusing herself as the complainant.
The decision was reached by a majority of four Justices against one, and the decision was made by a majority of four Justices against one.
According to Justice Irene Mulyagonja, who authored the majority opinion in the case, the judge acted in a biased manner by presiding over her own case.
It was both biased and a violation of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament because she did not address her conflict of interest.
Zaake filed a petition in which he challenged his removal from the parliamentary commission for alleged indiscretion, which was based on a report compiled by the Rules, Discipline, and Privileges Committee. This petition was the starting point for the case.
Following his criticism of the Speaker on social media, the committee determined that he had violated both the trust and the decorum of the meeting.
The Court agreed with Zaake and stated that there should not have been a quorum present when the resolution was voted on and that the motion should not have been placed to the order paper in an improper manner.
In addition, the Court was critical of Among because he did not accept the suggestion given to him by the Leader of the Opposition to delay the proceedings until the late Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah, who had been ill and unable to preside over them, could recover enough to do so.
However, the Court upheld the report of the Privileges Committee and recommended that it be implemented. The Court also made it clear that there was no need for an injunction to stop the implementation of the resolution because it had already been found to be illegal.
As a result of the judgement made by the Constitutional Court, Zaake is requesting, through the help of his attorneys at Lukwago and Company Advocates, that his office and all benefits to which he is legally entitled be reinstated.
These advantages include a gasoline card, an official vehicle, and a monthly honorarium.
Additionally, he requests that any unpaid honoraria that has accumulated since March 10, 2023, be paid to him.
In addition, he asks that the contracts for his driver and political assistant be reinstated.
Those contracts were unilaterally terminated by Parliament on January 12th, 2023, on the basis that he had ceased to be a Commissioner of Parliament. In his appeal, he states that he no longer holds the position of a Commissioner of Parliament.
In addition, they seek that the Clerk make certain that the security personnel and employees will not interfere with Zaake in any way while he is doing his duties as a Commissioner or in any other behavior that may be influenced by the ruling.
Elisha Bafirawara, Assistant Director of Litigation and Advisory Services, noted that they plan to appeal the ruling of the Constitutional Court by the end of the week, and they would manage his difficulties in accordance with that plan.
Zaake’s problems started when he made comments on social media criticizing the Speaker for the remarks she made during a plenary session recognizing legislators and parliamentary staff who had participated in the East African Legislative Assembly Games in Tanzania.
During the session, Anita made a sarcastic remark about how Zaake had earned a gold medal for parliament in the 100-meter race, despite supposedly breaking his leg as a result of being tortured by state security.
Anita was joking about how Zaake had won the medal. Anita’s remarks were made during a period when parliamentarians were venting their frustration about the rising number of instances of torture carried out by various security agencies.
Following a motion brought forward by the Member of Parliament for the Gulu City Barledge Division, Ojara Mapenduzi, about charges of abusing the speaker by using his social media profile, Among asked the committee to probe Zaake.